Chapter I

October 23, 1996,

Wall Street, USA, Quantum Fund Headquarters---

In the president's office, as the big boss of the quantum fund, Soros, known as the "financial predator", is analyzing the report at hand with a serious expression.

Standing in front of him were two loyal men, one named Pete and the other George.

After reading the report, Soros frowned, brushed his blonde hair back with his hand, and then leaned back in the boss's chair and stared at Pete and George with green eyes.

Pete and George felt like they were being stared at by the wolves in the forest, and they didn't dare to look at Soros, so they turned away and lowered their heads.

Soros looked at them and was silent.

The office seemed silent and eerie.

At this time, Soros moved, he took a large cigar from the humidor, and then used a small guillotine placed on the table to easily cut off the cigar head......

Pete was a little alert, and when he saw this, he hurriedly took out the lighter and came up.

George took a slow step, a little annoyed to himself.

Soros bit down on a large cigar and leaned over the lighter to light it.

The smoke of the cigar filled the office in an instant. "Do you know, dear Pete, why is Cuban cigar the best to smoke?" Soros asked suddenly.

Pete was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said: "Because Cuban cigars are produced from a good place and have good craftsmanship." ”

"Yes, I heard that when the cigars are rolled there, they make a lot of sixteen or seventeen-year-old beauties ......," George flattered.

But before he could finish speaking, Soros shook his head and interrupted him, saying: "You are all legends, stories made up by some boring people--- tell you that there is only one reason why Cuban cigars are so good to smoke, and that is that they are expensive." ”

Pete & George: "......"

You look at me, I look at you.

The answer is a little too simple.

"A lot of things in this world need to be measured by money, and in many people's perception, whatever is the most expensive is the best, which is why French red wine and Cuban cigars are so famous, but is that really the case?" asked Soros with a smile.

Pete and George were silent.

Soros sat in the boss's chair with his legs crossed, with a big cigar in his left hand, tapped the report on the table with his fingers, and said: "Actually, Thai cigars are very good, and the taste is even higher than that of Cuba, but why don't we Americans like to smoke them?"

"The reason is very simple, because Thai cigars are too cheap--- in the eyes of our noble Americans, cheap things are inferior and defective, so Thai cigars can only be popular in Chinatown and Thai Street in the United States, but not in high-end places like Wall Street. ”

"But now, I'm going to make a great change that will make the price of good Thai cigars even more expensive than Cuban cigars...... What do you say?" asked Soros with a smile.

Pete replied: "It's very simple, raise the price of goods in Thailand!"

George replied: "Short the baht!"

"YES!" Soros slapped the table and stood up laughing, "After reading this report, I have the same impulse as you. ”

"Thailand is really the best place in Asia, with beautiful Pattaya, coconut, sandy beaches, and cigar smoke...... Of course, the main thing is that there is the Thai baht, which has always been pegged to our dollar!"

"Now the overall bubble in Thailand's economy is serious, like a beautiful colorful soap bubble, just wait for us to take the tip of a needle to puncture this beautiful bubble--- then, dear friends, I think it's time to do it, because I have heard the sound of the dollar calling at us!" Soros laughed.

......

To tell the truth, since the last time he lost a big battle with Song Zhichao in Hong Kong, Soros has never been so happy.

Last time, Soros lost to Song Zhichao, and he almost lost his confidence.

As an international player and an international financial speculator, confidence is the most important weapon, and if there is no confidence, he Soros will become a toothless tiger.

But now, Song Zhichao offended the Kang family in Hong Kong and was driven out of Hong Kong, and now he doesn't know where he is.

And he Soros wants to attack Thailand in a big way, using the short Thai baht to set off an unprecedented financial storm.

Soros is bound to use this battle to regain the confidence he lost, and Soros also has a bold plan, if he can, he will defeat Thailand, and then return to Hong Kong again to get back everything that belongs to him.

"Song Zhichao, you wait! I will crush you Asians and you Chinese monkeys to pieces!" Soros swore as he bit his cigar.

Outside the window, it was cloudy at some point.

A thunderbolt lit up the office, and it also reflected Soros's eyes---

Gloomy, cold!

......

In fact, the sniping baht was premeditated by Soros. Soros judged early on that Thailand's economic development is overheated, there is a serious asset bubble, asset prices are seriously overvalued, including the Thai exchange rate is also overvalued, in addition, Thailand's financial control is the most relaxed among Southeast Asian countries, if you snipe the Thai baht, the obstacle will be the least.

On October 22, 1996, Operation Thai Baht was launched---

Soros first borrowed tens of billions of baht from the Bank of Thailand. Soros then exchanged the baht for dollars, which were not moved for now. Since 1984, the Thai baht has maintained a fixed exchange rate of 25:1 against the US dollar, and there is no problem of depreciation and appreciation. And if Soros wants to make money by shorting, he must turn Thailand's fixed exchange rate into a floating exchange rate and devalue the Thai baht.

After Soros lent out the money, he sold it all, bought dollars from the Thai government in batches, and kept borrowing Thai baht and throwing Thai baht, and so on......

For a time, banks and the market were selling the baht, panic spread, so the herd effect appeared, and the institutions and individuals holding the baht in the market began to sell frantically, and the baht continued to depreciate.

In addition to selling the Thai baht, Soros also sold shares of Thai banks and finance companies, sold Thai baht futures and forward foreign exchange positions, and launched a large-scale short selling operation in the market.

Soros acted quickly and ferociously, which caught Thailand by surprise. After the Thai government reacted, it poured all the strength of the whole country into launching a counter-encirclement and suppression against Soros---

1. Thailand took out $5 billion in foreign exchange reserves, and formed a "coalition" with Singapore, using a total of about $12 billion to buy Thai baht;

2. Strictly prohibit local banks from lending Thai baht to Soros' army directly by executive order;

3. Raise the interest rate sharply, and the overnight interest rate will rise from the original 1% to 100% to 150%, which is equivalent to you borrowing 100, and then you will have to repay 200 or even 250, and the cost of borrowing will be greatly increased.

?? The Bank of Thailand's three-pronged approach quickly stabilized the baht exchange rate and brought the situation under temporary control.

Soros lost $300 million in this battle.

??